iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550) Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum –Identifies and avoids obstacles like pet waste & cords, Empties itself for 60 days, Smart Mapping, Works with Alexa, Ideal for Pet Hair, Roomba J7+

We have pets, so I got this, so it would avoid them love the self empty. It’s great at avoiding obstacles, but it’s quite a bit noisier than I thought when it empties it sounds like a airplane taking off I would recommend, but do not use at night when you’re sleeping it will wake you up.

We purchased this machine December 7, 2021. Our use: - We got it to help us keep up with dog fur, as even once a week is not enough for our 85 lb. yellow lab. - About 1,100 sq. foot main level, mostly hardwood, 2 rooms with carpet. One rooms carpet is high pile. - We like to run it 2-3 times a week. - We keep it clean and maintained as recommended. The good: - Time between needing to replace base bag is good. - It does seem to get most of the fur off the hardwood floor, judging by all the clumps are gone, but you can still find fur speckled around on the hardwood floor. - It seems to do pretty well on the carpet also, based on me testing by going back over the carpet with our good quality full upright to see how much fur I get. There is a little, but not much. - The dog is not bothered by it. :) The whatever: - Its pretty darn loud, but I was not expecting to not to be, so thats fine. The bad: - Often leaves thick strings of fur on the hardwood floor where it borders with carpet. Those need to be manually removed. - The wheels leave markings on the hardwood floor a lot, but not everywhere. I dont think its just skidding when turning, as the marks can be straight too. Rubbing with my socked foot seems to get them up. I suspect this may be common for robot vacuums. - The logic/app is not capable of predicting run times accurately, and does not include charging time. - The logic/app is not capable of predicting an intelligent point to charge, or how long to charge, in order to complete the job without needing to recharge again. - Unable to mark identified possible obstructions as not an obstruction, remember this next time so you constantly have to mark the same items on reviews after every job. The worse: - Mapping takes several clean everywhere cycles, where each take 9-11 hours (including charging time.) At least (4) of these cycles to get a map where you are allowed to place dividers, name rooms, etc. - The map gets distorted easily over time. Wall openings do not align, which messes up room and divider setup, and then you lose your cleaning jobs that have messed up rooms in them. - The robot will sometimes identify new areas, which are really part of the original map, but for some reason it thinks the room got 3 wider or it found another room, or something. These can sometimes break the map, causing the app to crash, and you cannot start a job without STARTING THE MAPPING ALL OVER AGAIN. - The robot gets lost easily. If it runs over a floor vent or anything else that may spin it a little, its orientation is messed up. I think it needs both wheels in constant contact with the floor to track its location. - It bumps into things constantly. I dont just mean chairs and other furniture; I mean even walls as its traveling. The plastic bumper sensor is very scratched up. - Trying to accurately place a no-go area on the map is very difficult, and takes several adjustments to get it right (which over time becomes not right) - It has trouble finding the docking station about 40% of the time. It will spend 5 minutes trying to align itself then give up and finish the job stuck, which means you have to start it over. We keep the base and sensors clean, so that is not a factor. --- It has also been (2) rooms away trying to find the docking station. UPDATE NEW ROBOT: (With the help of a $200 save coupon) I ordered a roborock Q5+ to replace this on the main floor. My hope was that the LiDAR navigation, along with stronger suction, help improve a lot of my pain points. You can see that review here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3HRIDQBQ4W529?ref=pf_ov_at_pdctrvw_srp

So, just know that robots don’t have any suction power like an upright. But, they keep the floors tidy and looking good and the surface dirt and dust and junk picked up. And they gotta map well otherwise, what’s the point. The J7+ does everything it says. Great mapping, great clean up, learning, it’s fast, and very quiet. Just know, you gotta have a good strong vac for the deep clean every month. (We got a Shark Navigator for this part and it rocks.) Best of both worlds. You have a Daily hands-off cleaner and a monthly deep cleaner. Super clean house and you only have to vac 1-2 times a month or less. And your hard floors - will always be swept without picking up a broom. Not cheap but definitely a great way to reduce work without sacrificing the clean. $599 + $198 … we bought some time and effort back.

I was SO reluctant to try this technology, but a Cyber Monday deal made me finally take the leap, and I am so happy I did!!! After one mapping run, the vacuum had my whole downstairs mapped perfectly! I was very surprised at this give that we have a lot of square footage & rooms. It did take all day to map it though. Afterwards, it took only 5 minutes on the app to move room dividers & label the rooms, and the next day she started cleaning at a set time exactly where I asked based on a schedule I set up. It was flawless! A couple of very important notes to help others: 1. The day of your mapping run the vacuum does NOT clean, therefore it is quieter & you won’t see anything in the dust bin! 2. Your vacuum is afraid of the dark! You need to turn on lights (if it is dark) in rooms & hallways she is in, or she gets lost & does not function properly. I would have thought she was broken had I not looked that up online & realized my mistake when I had her vacuum in the dark several days later & she suddenly couldn’t find her way out of a dark room she was cleaning! Lights have been on every day since & no more issues whatsoever! 3. When setting permanent obstacles be sure you don’t want her to vacuum even close to them or she will avoid that area all together. I found labeling everything “temporary obstacle” a better solution so that she still gets close but then pulls away before there is an issue. 4. Before your 1st mapping run pick up as much as you can so she draws a perfect map. I listened to the manufacturer on that & my map is flawless. Then on subsequent runs you can be not quite so picky & she will adapt without changing your core layout. *FYI: this would be an AWESOME gift for an elderly or disabled person! The cleaning is super detailed & would be adequate in that situation, if run every day, to avoid using a traditional vacuum. For everyone else, I think a regular vacuum would be in order every other week for a deep clean (especially if you have carpets). I use my iRobot to do touch-up cleaning every other day & after dinner, but vacuum with a regular vacuum once at the end of the week because I like a super clean house.

I bought a used item in very good condition for $200 off. Came in a damaged box, but contents were still wrapped in original shipping material and undamaged. Terrific deal! I have a large home with a convoluted floorplan. The iRoomba j7+ mapped the entire area using 3 outings, including me manually placing it in the middle of an uncharted area-- it not only mapped it but figured out how it fit to the existing map. Love that I can say OK Google, vacuum around the fireplace and the mess made from emptying ashes and loading wood is gone. The spinning brush gently sweeps all dust and debris from the floor edges along the walls. Navigates over, next to, around area rugs with ease, doesnt damage rug fringe on my Persian rugs. Wish my bed wasnt so low or it could get all the dust bunnies under there. I love watching it move around and leaving clean floors when done. I got the companion mop robot that can be programmed to work with the vacuum by automatically mopping after vacuuming. Nothing negative to say about it.

My first robotic vacuum and Im a fan. Have used for about 7 months now without issue. If only it would do stairs.

This is our second Roomba in about 8 years. The “cutting edge” vacuum back then couldn’t empty its own bin, set up room maps, schedule beyond start/stop and definitely didn’t have an app. In this way, the J7+ is superior. It’s smarter and more hands-off, to be sure. I love being able to start a routine via app and be able to check in on progress along the way. As for actual vacuuming, though, this one falls far short. It does a pretty good job on our short berber carpet but not a great job - at ALL - on the Saltillo tile that covers most of our house. It leaves small bits and pieces on the tile and almost always leaves balls of rolled up pet hair on rugs and carpeted areas (picture is attached, apologies in advance). I’ve gotten to the point of doing a single job twice in a row so she can pick up the dirt or hair she moved around but left behind in the first go. This isn’t the end of the world, but doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense. Like the older version, she will still get stuck when one wheel is up on a tile and the other is on a rug with a thick pile. We’ve come home a few times to find she was stopped with a dead battery because she couldn’t extract herself and return to the charging base. The convenience of having an automated robot vacuum is still high on my list, no doubt. Regardless of the issues outlined above, this machine does help keep the floors moderately clean in between deeper sessions with the traditional vac. I am just disappointed in the performance - especially given the price point and the fact that this is supposed to be such a grand upgrade over the earlier models. The company put a lot of energy into making a smarter vacuum that doesn’t handle the basics very well. A word of advice: the OEM bags that belong to this model (2 deliver in the box) do not hold much and, after they’re used, get thrown into the trash. Before buying more, check around for off-brand bags that are reusable and have a zipper along the back that allows the bag to be emptied.

We absolutely love our J9! We own several Roombas but this one is by far our favorite. The suction is spot on and with 2 dogs, we dont see one iota of fur anywhere!

Compared with a broom and a dustpan, it is OK; its cat fur-ball cleaning capability is zilch. (Use a Dustbuster for that). However, because it is so well designed for the lazy man, my hardwood floors and rugs get cleaned a LOT more often, so that is a big win--I wont tell you how rarely they got cleaned before. Also, like all carpet vacuums, it cant get the edges. Again, use a Dustbuster. UPDATE 6/22/23: If you have cats, expect to have to open and empty the bin on the Roomba itself weekly. The cat hair doesnt get sucked out by the base. I have short haired cats, if I had long haired cats I probably would be cleaning the bin on the Roomba daily.

I’ve purchased 4 Roomba sweepers & a mop so far because I’m apparently stupid & don’t like to clean. Initially, this thing is a dream come true & you’ll love that it sweeps while you’re doing something else. I don’t use the programming app because I find that to be a bit much, I just hit the button & it goes. I can tell a huge difference with different types of dog hair. Longer dog hair gets trapped in the wheels & underneath and clogs the machine so I’m pretty good at disassembling the unit & cleaning/replacing parts by now. This newest j7 purchased 10/3/22 - 6 mos. ago - is already spouting multiple errors at me. I had 3 just today & cleaned it out completely. It still doesn’t work. I have 2 of the j7 self emptying & a 980 currently. The I7 Wi-Fi connected self emptying machine was thrown in the trash 2 years after I purchased it due to multiple issues, not limited to the fact that the design of the emptying dock was bad & they’ve since changed it but it was a complete loss for me. I can say that the most reliable machine so far is the 980 that you have to empty by hand. I’ve had it since 2017 and it still works well. The dust bins are larger on the non-emptying types and they hold a lot and pack the bin full. I purchased an extra basic dock for this machine & move it around. I think this is the best bet due to the fact that the more tech on the machines, the quicker they break down. I have mostly hardwood floors & some low pile carpet/area rugs so I’m not beating this thing up. Really disappointing longevity on the self-emptying styles.